Designing sustainable agricultural production systems for a changing world: Methods and applications

Over the next 40 years agriculture will have to increase food production by an estimated 70% at least, on nearly the same area of land, under increasing costs of energy and other inputs, and under evident climate change (Lobell et al., 2009; State of Food Insecurity in the World, 2013). Ecological intensification of agricultural production has been proposed as a way forward for agriculture to meet these challenges (Cassman, 1999 and Doré et al., 2011). The required practices, technologies, tactics and strategies are likely to differ between low and high income countries, across agro-ecologies, farming systems, and households having access to contrasting levels of resources and markets. It is clear that no single solution will be able to achieve sustainable economic development across this diversity of more or less rural-based economies around the globe. Despite the complexity of the problem, opportunities are urgently needed to increase agricultural production and feed a growing population while reducing the negative environmental impacts of agriculture, and increasing its contribution to natural capital and environmental services.